


harvest moon and autumn sun

by thewayofthetrashcompactor (BriarLily)



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop & Tattoo Parlor, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Everyone's got a secret, F/M, Florist Ben, Fluff, Magic, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rating May Change, Werewolves, Witches, tattoo artist Rey
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-01
Updated: 2019-02-23
Packaged: 2019-08-13 23:55:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16482167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BriarLily/pseuds/thewayofthetrashcompactor
Summary: After years on her own, Rey's found a job at Resistance Tattoos. It's not a bad gig. She has friends who understand that magic isn't as fictional as most people believe and who put up with her after the full moon. They've got a pretty good thing going on, but she's not sure the flower shop moving in across the street fits into that. Especially with how strange the new owner smells. And what kind of gardener is so pale? Rey decides she's going to find out.





	1. Moving In

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Spiegatrix_Lestrange](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spiegatrix_Lestrange/gifts).



> For Simona, who gave such wonderful prompts <3 I was very excited to write them, and I'm sorry that this is so delayed and only the first chapter! I really hope I do justice to what you were looking for. Hope to get more of this up this week!

Rey sat in the small waiting area of Resistance Tattoos, sketchbook abandoned on her lap as she watched the last delivery truck pull away from the shop across the street. It left behind a shiny new storefront, done up in pastels and neat calligraphy. Not exactly the typical view along this street. 

She should be helping Rose with her space; grunts and occasional swearing came from her friend’s doorway across the lobby. Or she could work on sketching more pieces for her portfolio. But the last full moon had left her dazed and tired, and Rose had kicked her out after Rey had disrupted her system. Rey wasn’t used to sleeping through the change the night of the moon instead of locking herself away to fight it out. She glanced down at her sketchbook, still lacking any ideas for a new piece, and went back to staring out the window.

Finn wandered out from behind the counter to watch with her. “So he's really doing that, huh,” he commented, eyeing the freshly delivered displays of flowers and small shrubs doubtfully. 

“Looks like it,” Rey agreed. Finn looked along the street pointedly, and Rey followed his gaze. The same corner market, bar, and thrift shop sat there as they had for years. ‘Millennium Roses’ didn't look anything like them. The other shops gave the impression that they'd done battle for their space and they'd be damned if anything forced them out. The flower shop looked pretty and delicate, lacking the time-earned scars adorning the other buildings. 

Finn looked at her out of the corner of his eyes. “Bets on how long they'll last?” 

Rey pursed her lips thoughtfully. “Can't be long. This is the third one over there this year. I'm pretty sure it's cursed.”

“Could be,” Finn said, and Rey is reminded that she's talking to someone who knew about the very real possibility of a building being cursed. She'd worked at Resistance for a little over a year now, and had known Finn for a few months longer, and it still felt surreal to have people around who understood that witches and werewolves weren't just stories. “No one's lasted long since the Hutts got kicked out, and their slimy asses weren't happy to leave. Wouldn't surprise me if they left something behind.”

Rey nodded, watching as the blurry shape of their new neighbor moved around inside the shop. “Twenty bucks he's gone in six months,” she said, turning to Finn.

He grinned. “Ever the optimist, aren't you? I'm not putting money on anything more than three.” He yelled over his shoulder, “Hey, Rose!”

Rose's head popped out of her doorway, paint smeared across her cheek from her latest effort at redecorating. “Yeah?”

Finn gestured out the window. “We're taking bets on how long the new shob is going to last. Rey has twenty on under six months, I'll put the same on three.”

Rose came out and joined them at the front. “Aw, a flower shop. That's sweet. Very nice lettering on the sign.” She glanced at Rey. “Really, six months?” 

“Less than,” Rey clarified. “It took them that long to kick out that game shop, and I'm not sure they ever sold anything.”

“True,” Rose admitted. “But the vape shop was in and out in a month.”

Finn made a face. “Thank fuck.”

They all fell silent as a dark-haired man emerged from the shop with a watering can and a large bag and set to tending the plants set out front. Rey didn't see much of his features before he turned his back on them, but he was tall and his back stretched the dark sweater he wore. Not her usual thing, but she couldn't deny that it was a nice look. He didn't look much like a gardener though, and if he hadn't put so much care into the appearance of his shop, she'd be convinced it was some kind of front for something else.

“Not bad,” Rose mused from next to her. “Pale though. Makes you think of that ‘never trust a skinny chef thing’, you know? What kind of gardener looks like he's never seen the sun?”

“Yeah,” Finn agreed. “Better than the last guy though, I'll give him that.”

Rose shuddered. “A family of rats would have been an improvement over him.”

“The rats would stick around longer,” Finn said.

Rey stood up. “I'm going to go say hi,” she told them.

They both looked at her like she'd proposed giving up their own shop to go into the flower business. 

“Why?” Rose asked.

Rey shrugged. “Just to welcome him. It's the…” She struggled for the word. “... Neighbourly thing to do. Right?”

“You didn't go over to welcome Ziro when he moved in with his store,” Finn pointed out. 

“That's because I buy my sex toys on the internet, not where Mrs. Andor can watch and see what I come out with,” Rey said, rolling her eyes.”I don't need her giving me suggestions when I go to pick up lunch.”

“I don't know, the Andors wouldn't be the worst people to ask for dildo recs,” Rose said. “They've been together forever and they're still up all night; they have to be doing something right.”

“You can ask them,” Rey suggested. “I'm going to go talk to the new guy.”

Rose opened her mouth to say something else, but Finn grabbed her arm. “Have fun,” he said before Rose could interrupt.

Rose glanced at the clock next to the counter. “Not too much fun. Your first appointment today is in forty minutes.” 

Rey ignored her and walked out of the shop. She waited for a couple cars to pass before crossing the street, and by the time she got over there, the man had already gone back inside. She stopped to admire the displays, vibrant fall carnations dotting between pots of hardy shrubs. She rubbed a leaf between her fingers, then let go and pushed open the door marked by a simple ‘Open’ sign in the same script in white on green as the one overhead. 

A soft chime rang in the back of the shop as she entered, barely audible from the door. The scent of dirt and growing things, which had been faint outside, washed over her as she walked in, and her sensitive nose wrinkled as she adjusted. The lights inside were low, mostly relying on the sunlight from the large windows in the front. Plants filled every surface of the small store, crowded in pots of all sizes on mismatched tables, some high, some low. A few aged mirrors, also not matching, reflected the sunlight along the walls, casting it through bundles of crystals that hung from the ceiling. Plants sat in front of these too and hung from above, spilling over their pots. Rey ducked around one as she walked further inside, watching her step carefully between the uneven tables. The way the plants settled into the space made the shop look like it had been there for years, rather than just opening. It was like it had grown as the inevitable progress out of the remains of the previous shops, claiming its space with steady determination.

Her hands brushed the plants as she passed, keeping her touch gentle even though most of them looked like they'd outlive her without trying. Nothing about the shop matched up with what she'd expected, so much so that it took her a second to realize what was missing. While flowers of all colors in shapes she hadn't even known existed blossomed from every surface, all of them were in pots. No cut arrangements sat in vases ready to be taken home as an offering for a birthday or belated anniversary. She didn't see anything that wasn't still growing, not even a plastic wrapped grocery store bouquet. 

As she walked further, her nose began to pick through the varied smells of greenery, separating the gentle spiciness of the leafy plants in front of her from the sharp unpleasant notes of a large red flower against the wall. She didn't know enough about plants to be able to identify any of them, but being surrounded by everything green and growing was comforting in a way she'd never really felt before. But something about the shop put her on edge. Maybe the way the plants seemed to have taken hold so quickly, or the sense they gave off that they belonged here more than she did. She'd grown up in the city, and she'd never been so surrounded by green before. Something about the smell of the place nagged at her too, beyond the overwhelming smells of unfamiliar plants. A sharp, clear scent lingered in the air, clinging to each of the plants. It almost reminded her of mint in the way it stung her nose. The wolf in her made it clear that she didn't like it, forcing Rey to keep her breaths shallow and even.

She wandered to a small table crowded with succulents beneath a clouded mirror. A few larger plants loomed in the back over a collection of smaller pots, each holding something small and oddly-shaped. A few grew spikes, while others stayed strangely smooth, like one that looked like a large dew drop. One with zebra stripes along its long fronds sat next to one whose leaves looked like they had been inflated, and she couldn't resist feeling them both. This table reminded her of days of long sun and smelled like sand.

The strange sharp scent grew stronger, and Rey's heart pounded. She looked around her, but nothing moved between the rows of plants. She turned back to the table, wanting to look at a few more of the succulents before tracking down the new owner, then jumped when a deep voice came from her side.

“Can I help you?” it asked, with a touch of annoyance. She let her breath out slowly and turned to face it.

The man from outside stood in front of her, somehow even taller in person. He looked down his aquiline nose at her, arms crossed over his chest. He stood beside a tall, slim tree, far too small to have concealed him when she'd looked before. She regarded him suspiciously. The scent had grown strong enough for her to realize that it must be coming from him. It was clearer with him so close, like a field after rain, but amplified and mixed with the smells and sun and dirt that clung to everything here. She still wasn't sure what it meant; it was nothing like Rose's magic, a mix of flame and ink, or Finn's leather with an edge of antiseptic. She didn't like not knowing things, but anything that could keep this shop vibrant and _green_ couldn't be too bad. She decided she'd figure this man out.

“I'm Rey,” she said, thrusting out her hand.

He looked down at it, then extended his own. “Ben.” His long fingers wrapped around hers in a firm grip, slightly warm. He shook her hand briefly and then let go. 

“I work across the street, Resistance Tattoos,” Rey explained. Ben glanced down at her arms, where examples of her friends’ work peaked out from under her long sleeves. 

“I see,” he said evenly. 

“Figured I’d come by to welcome you to the neighborhood, since you just got set up and all.” Rey shoved her hands in her pockets, fiddling with her keys. 

“Oh.” Ben hesitated. “Thank you.”

She nodded. “So. You grow all this? Can't imagine what kind of magic it takes to keep them all growing; I'm terrible with plants.”

He looked at her sharply, eyes suspicious, like she'd accused him of actual blood magic to keep his shop afloat. She tried a friendly smile, which didn't seem to convince him, but he slowly relaxed. “Just a talent, I guess,” he mumbled. 

“Yeah?” she prompted.

He shrugged. “Always been good at it. Figured I might as well do something useful with it for once.”

“What were you doing before?” she asked curiously.

He stiffened. “I was…” He searched for words and Rey shifted uncomfortably. “Around.”

She took the hint to change the topic. “We were looking at your sign out there from across the street,” she said, gesturing outside. “The lettering is beautiful, who'd you get to do that?”

He blinked. “I did.”

“Really? It looks great! Very neat.” His cheeks gained a pink tint and she smiled. “Another talent?” she teased.

“I used to do calligraphy,” he admitted.

“That's very cool; I'd love to learn.” She took a step closer. “Can't wait to find out what other secrets you're hiding,” she said, grinning.

He froze. His scent grew sharper, stinging her nose. “I don't know what you're talking about,” he said stiffly.

She held his gaze, still smiling. “Well, I guess we'll see.”

He didn't answer, just narrowed his eyes. She bent and picked up the small zebra-striped succulent she'd seen earlier, cradling it in her hands. She turned it around but didn't see a price.

“How much?” she asked, gaze flicking back to Ben. He looked her over and she could smell the tension. 

“Twenty,” he said decisively, and she knew he had bumped his price up for her. She raised her chin at him.

“Five.”

His taken aback expression made her think of a Victorian maiden clutching her chest, about to faint. “Eighteen,” he said stubbornly.

She shook her head. “Eight.”

He crossed his arms over his broad chest. “Fifteen.”

“Ten.”

“Thirteen.”

“Twelve.”

They both watched each other, waiting for the other to back down. He relented first. “Fine. Twelve,” he said, arms falling to his sides. “You have to take care of it though. Don't assume that you can get away with not watering it just because it’s not leafy.”

She nodded, clutching the pot to her with one hand while the other dug for her wallet. “I will,” she promised. She couldn't wait to take it home. 

Ben softened as he took her money, watching the way she held the plant. “You can… come over. If you have questions.”

She grinned. “I'll do that.” Still holding her new plant close, she headed back across the street, the shop's bell chiming behind her. She stopped on the sidewalk and looked back. Ben had followed her to the front of the store and watched her through the window. She waved. He flushed and turned away, disappearing back into the dimly lit rows of plants. 

Rey crossed the street and pushed open the door to the tattoo shop with her shoulder. Finn and Rose jumped and did their best to look like they hadn’t had their noses pressed to the window. Rey did her best to ignore them, carrying her new plant back to her studio. 

“Did you spread some neighborly cheer?” Rose called after her, laughing.

Rey flipped her off as she disappeared behind her door. She set the small pot in the high window, adjusting it to get the most light. She smiled at it. She thought she’d be visiting Ben’s shop again soon, if only to find out what he had going on. The new store and its owner were more than they seemed. Her nose was never wrong. 


	2. Commitment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick update while I try to post as much as possible before reveals! 
> 
> Thank you so, so much for the feedback on the first chapter. I've been very worried about this one, and I'm so happy to hear people like it! Will catch up on comments once I catch up on writing, but please know that I've reread all of them multiple times and appreciate them so so much.
> 
> Again, for Simona, who is a wonderful artist and writer and such a fantastic person to have in fandom! I'm glad I got the opportunity to write this for you <3

Rey developed a habit of sitting out front with her notebook to do her sketching. She’d created a comfortable nook in her work area so she could have a space to herself without others around, but she kept finding herself being drawn out to the window looking across the street. 

Finn and Rose hadn’t failed to notice her change in habits. She passed Rose’s door on the way to her usual seat as Rose was cleaning up her station for her next appointment. Lines of contained flame passed over each piece of equipment; Rose insisted on trusting her magic over anything else to keep her materials sterile. “How’s the stalking going?” she asked, grinning. Rey kept walking, cheeks turning pink. “The key to a good stalker and stalkee relationship is consistency; you’re doing great!” 

Rey settled into the mismatched plastic chair in the front farthest from the door, propping her sketchbook on her lap. Finn looked up from where he was managing their various social media on his laptop and phone. Rey stared at him, waiting for his commentary, but he just shook his head and went back to his work. 

Rey took one of her pencils from her buns and started sketching ideas for a new design she’d thought of recently, absolutely unrelated to the new neighbor. Something with the Resistance Tattoo symbol aged, flowers and vines slowly overcoming it. Something like a variation on the classics. She drew a few shapes, working on the positioning. Across the street, a breeze blew past the flowers sitting outside of Millenium Roses. No sign of the owner. 

From her occasional observations, the new shop seemed to have had a lukewarm opening. Better than she and the others had been expecting, really. Most of the locals regarded the shop with wary suspicion, but a few ventured in. The Andors had visited and come out with what appeared to be a large bush with a single dark red flower. Other people had come down the street and done a double take at the clean, new storefront and entered out of curiosity. The store never got busy, but enough people came by to keep it going. 

As she watched, a dark blur moved behind the window opposite, and Ben opened the door, emerging with his standard watering can and heavy sack of something dark. Probably fertilizer. Rey glanced at the clock in the lobby. Just past four, same as always. Ben set the sack down and scooped out the dark clumps, carefully measuring them into different pots. His pink lips moved as he worked, and she wondered what he said. He handled each plant with delicate affection, stroking leaves and petals, long fingers gentle as he caressed thick stems. She shifted in her seat. It almost looked like the flowers turned their heads up to him as he took care of them, basking. 

He finished with the plants and returned inside, door swinging closed behind him. She sighed. She’d have to go over there again soon. She’d considered manufacturing some problem with her plant to come to him with, but it had remained aggressively healthy, despite her usual talent for killing things, and she felt too bad to hurt it. Maybe she’d get it a friend. She had the sinking feeling that Millenium Roses was going to start being a regular part of her budget. An image crossed her mind of her work space with plants hanging off of every surface. She couldn’t deny the appeal. 

Finn walked up behind her and glanced over her shoulder at her notebook. “Nice,” he said, deadpan. “Is that a new tattoo for your ass, or should we just skip the details and go for a nice big ‘property of’ kind of thing?”

Rey looked down. At some point, Ben had appeared next to the design she was working on, bent over the flowers surrounding the Resistance symbol, watering can in hand. She scrutinized the likeness. It was hardly the first time her sketches had turned his way, and this one looked pretty good. Maybe the perspective from the back made it work better. She always struggled with his face; there was something about it that she never managed to capture. She always drew the details of his features just as she saw them, without any technical mistakes, but the sketches always seemed off, as if there were some quality to him that she couldn’t capture on the paper. It bothered her.

The glimpse of his face from the side in this one worked better, just a hint of those features, the intense look in his brown eyes directed towards his plants. And of course the curve of his ass was drawn without flaw. She tilted the drawing towards the light, appreciating it. 

“I don’t know,” she mused. “It feels more like an upper thigh kind of thing to me.” She looked back at Finn, who rolled his eyes. 

“Putting your boyfriend aside for a second here,” he said, then continued over Rey’s protests. “I actually came over to ask you about the Halloween party over at Bodhi's. You still working on designs or too busy working on crushing on flower boy?”

She flicked him, then turned several pages back in her sketchbook, doing her best to hide the other drawings of Ben. She found the plans she’d made for her and her friends and showed them to Finn with a grin. “I can multitask,” she told him. 

His eyebrows shot up. “Wow, yeah, you sure can. These are great! We’ll definitely win again with that.”

“That’s the idea,” she said with satisfaction. 

He pointed to a detail on the outfit she’d designed for him. “What do you think will be the best way to do this? Foam?”

“Yeah, or --” She took her pencil out again and they put their heads together to plan. 


	3. Strangers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took so much longer than expected, and ended up being long enough that I decided to split it into two parts. Sorry for the delay, and I hope you enjoy! 
> 
> Thank you very much to erulisse17 and azuwrites who made moodboards inspired by this fic, and to [MissCoppelia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissCoppelia/pseuds/MissCoppelia) who betaed both parts of this chapter!

Rey became familiar with the regular visitors to Ben’s shop. The Andors came back a few times, both apart and together, and she spotted the new plants in their restaurant when she went to pick up lunch for herself, Finn, and Rose. A couple cacti and a few flowers with long drooping leaves fit into the deep red decor she knew Cassian had picked out. If she didn’t come over so often, she wouldn’t have known they were new; they looked as if they’d been put in when the restaurant had first opened, before Rey had come around. Jyn caught her looking and grinned. 

“You been over there yet?” she asked, leaning on the counter.

Rey’s gaze jerked back to the older woman. “What?”

Jyn nodded at the plants. “Ben’s place.” Rey did her best to keep her face straight, but something must have shown, because Jyn’s grin widened. “Seen what he’s got to offer?”

Rey skipped over the innuendo, focusing instead on the first part. “You know him?” she asked. 

Jyn waved a hand. “Knew of him, more. Never expected him to settle down here, or settle down at all really. That one’s had a rough time of it. I knew his mom better, met her during the last supernatural throwdown.”

Rey nodded. It always felt weird to hear Jyn talk so matter-of-fact about magic and other things she’d been too scared to mention for years. Jyn had guessed she was a were as soon she’d walked into the restaurant for the first time with Finn and Rose, Cassian rolling his eyes behind her. She’d dropped hints about what she and her husband were, but wouldn't tell Rey, assuring her she’d figure it out eventually. They’d been involved in some huge conflict Rey had heard bits and pieces about, but never enough to put together. Getting information from Jyn always involved some kind of bargaining, but she was still easier to crack than her husband. 

“Rough time of it?” Rey repeated, keeping her tone casual.

Jyn smiled and raised an eyebrow. “Nice try. That’s not my business to tell even if I wanted to, so you’re not getting anything here.”

Rey cursed internally. So much for that. “No hints?”

Jyn shook her head. “Nada. You’ve got to go ask him.” She smirked. “You’re a pretty young girl, chica, shouldn’t be that hard.” Her smirk grew wider. “Or, maybe it can be. That’s for you to find out.”

Rey took her meaning and rolled her eyes. Before she could answer, Cassian called from the back, speaking rapidly in that not-quite-Spanish he used with his wife that Rey had never been able to fully figure out. She picked out a few words, including her name and Ben’s. Jyn laughed and called back. Rey listened, burning with curiosity. 

Jyn glanced back and told her, “He says I should stop teasing you and let you take your lunch before it gets cold. He’s right.” She pushed the bag of warm containers wafting the mouth-watering scents of seasoned meat and spices across the counter towards Rey. “Can’t keep Finn and Rose from their lunch too.”

She knew that wasn’t all they’d said, but she took the bag and didn’t press. “Thanks.”

Jyn nodded. “See you soon.” 

Rey headed out, walking back down the street to the tattoo parlor. Her steps slowed as she neared the door and she looked across the street at the flower shop. A couple she’d seen there a few times before lingered outside. They didn’t show any particular interest in the flowers displayed, simply standing in the shadow of the building. The woman stood a few inches taller than the man, her blonde hair cut short, while he hid his bright red hair under a wide-brimmed hat. They wore matching dark glasses and both had on coats, the woman’s in gleaming silver while the man’s black trench coat covered him from his knees to his chin. They noticed her looking and fixed their reflective gazes on her until she looked away, heart pounding faster. 

She pushed open the door to the shop and Finn and Rose looked up from where they were bent over one of Finn’s notebooks behind the counter. Rose smiled, but the look faded into concern. “You okay?” she asked.

Rey walked over and set the bag down in front of them, still feeling vaguely uneasy. “That couple outside of Millenium, have you seen them before?”

Rose looked around Rey and frowned. “Actually, yeah. They’ve been there late a few times. I’m not the expert on our neighbor that you are, but they kind of stand out.” Rey’s uneasiness deepened. 

“Who’s that?” Finn asked, and walked around the counter to get a better look. His eyes went wide as he caught sight of the couple. “Fuck,” he swore, and took several steps back. 

Rose went to his side, grabbing his arm. “What is it?”

He shook his head. “I know those two. From back before I met Poe. Fuck,” he swore again. “They’re not looking over here, are they?”

Rey looked across. “No, they’re looking towards the door to Millenium. They’ve been doring that almost every time I’ve seen them. Like they’re waiting for something.”

Rose nodded. “I’ve noticed that too. You’d think they were the new guy’s friends, but they never go in. They’re just...there.” She looked at Finn. “Who are they?”

“Not anyone’s friends,” he said, swallowing. He didn't seem to want to say anymore than that. With one last terrified look across the street, he retreated to his work area, with Rose following.

Rey walked over to the window and looked out. The two across the street didn't appear to have noticed the panic they'd caused. The way they stood, mostly still, but unable to keep from small movements that said they weren't used to waiting. They'd prefer to go and get what they wanted, but something kept them lingering outside instead. Rey wondered what they were there for. Did Ben have something? Were they waiting for him? Why wait? Whatever about them that panicked Finn so much couldn't be good. 

She'd known Finn was running from something when she met him, same as her. Poe had tracked them down after Rey had been a little too sloppy in the last butcher shop she'd robbed to feed the pair of them and then instead of turning them in, had introduced them to Leia and gotten them training and jobs and explained the new world they found themselves in. Rey hadn't thought they'd escaped their pasts entirely, but she hadn't thought Finn's was so close.

Rey shivered and turned away from the window to take the food from the front counter in to Finn and Rose.

The afternoon passed with little interruption. Rey and Rose split their time out front, silently agreeing to cover for Finn between their appointments. The bell left on the counter chimed just as Rey was finishing the lettering of a quote on an older woman's arm. She carefully wiped off her needle and set it aside. 

“Just let that sit for a minute, don't touch,” she instructed the customer as she stood. “I'll be back to wrap it in a sec.”

The woman nodded, turning her arm to look at it better. Rey stepped out into the lobby and saw Bodhi standing out at the counter holding a thick package. 

“Hey,” he greeted her. “Where's the big guy?” 

“Taking a break,” she told him. He nodded understandingly. “Those for him?” She gestured to the carefully wrapped package. 

“Ah, yeah.” He passed it over the counter, brown paper crinkling over plastic as she took it. “There's a couple I think he's really going to like in there. Tell him I hope he's doing okay, yeah? And he can call whenever.”

“Will do,” she agreed. 

“Thanks Rey.” He smiled. “You three still planning on coming over on Halloween? Can’t let anyone beat you out for the contest.”

She grinned. “We’ll be there. We’ve got something planned.”

“Oh yeah?” His lips quirked up in the soft way he had. “You may have competition this year. There’s been a new guy around, looked pretty interested when I told him about it. Got to bring your best,” he said teasingly, tapping his fingers on the counter. 

“We will; you’ll see,” she promised.

He nodded, still smiling. “Looking forward to it.” With a last wave, he left, door swinging shut behind him. Rey went back to her client. 

As she strayed in and out of the lobby over the afternoon, Rey kept glancing across the street. The couple stayed outside of Ben’s store, barely moving more than a few feet. She didn’t see Ben, even as evening set in and he’d usually be out to take his plants inside for the night. She took a longer appointment in the early evening and by the time she emerged and saw the customer out, night had fallen completely. 

She lingered out front, looking through the window. The street lights flickered, but the man and the woman had disappeared. No lights shone from inside Millennium, and Rey considered with a strange pang of disappointment and worry that Ben must have left. She turned away to go back and clean up her equipment when a flare of cold blue light caught the corner of her eye. She whipped back around and rushed to the window. The street stayed silent and still, but then in the alley next to the shop, another flash of blue spilled across the concrete, disappearing in an instant. There was something unnatural about that light, so devoid of warmth that it sent a shiver down Rey's spine, even from inside the shop.

Without another thought, Rey rushed out of the door and across the street. The cool night air stung her throat as she ran, everything fading into the background as she fixed on the dark alley. She came around the corner as the blue light flashed again, bright enough to flood her vision. When her sight cleared, she saw Ben at the end of the alley, cornered by the couple who'd been waiting outside his shop. The man stood to the side, his glasses removed, icy gaze locked on Ben with a sharp smirk. 

“Not so impressive now, Ren,” he sneered. “I'm not as foolish as Snoke, to let you bring one of your freakish creations within reach. He thought you a tame weapon. I won't be making the same mistakes.”

Ben's jaw clenched, highlighting the long gash that reached from the corner of his jaw, across his cheek, and up over his eye. Blood spilled down his face, and he shook his head to clear it from dripping over his eye. “You sure about that?” he growled.

The redhead glared at him. “Things are going to be different in the Order now.”

Ben rolled his eyes. “You can have your fucking horde of psychopaths, asshole,” he spat. “I'm done.”

The redhead's lips curled in a smile that edged on unhinged. “You are,” he confirmed. 

The tall blonde who had stood silent next to Ben stepped in and brought her hand to Ben’s stomach with a flash of bright blue. When the light cleared, she held a blade of ice, curved and shining in the dim light of the alley. With a flick of her wrist, the blade pushed in, cutting easily through Ben's shirt, red blossoming across it. He cried out in shock and Rey broke out of the stunned daze holding her.

“Hey!” she yelled, running down the alley. 

All three faces turned towards her, wearing varied expressions of surprise. She took advantage of their shock to lunge for the woman. She grabbed her wrist, digging her short nails in between the bones, while she brought her knee up to hit the joint from the other side. The blonde was forced into opening her hand, dropping the freezing blade. Before she could react, Ben bent and snatched it up. The blonde tried to swing at him, but Rey caught her arm. The other woman was bigger than her and well-muscled; she couldn't hold her off through sheer force, but she did stop the blow enough for Ben to duck away.

The woman whirled to face Rey, her expression set in firm determination. Before Rey could take the offense, a fiery sheet of pain blazed down her spine. She cried out, spinning around to see the redhead grinning at her from across the alley, his hand outstretched. She took a step towards him, but Ben beat her. He flew at the man, shoving him against the wall. His arm pressed against the redhead's throat and the man choked, grabbing Ben's arm. His hand glowed as it dug into Ben's flesh, and Ben's jaw tightened, but he didn't let go. An odd cracking noise came from beneath their feet, like something was fighting its way up from below. 

Another icy flash drew her attention back to the woman behind her. Rey spun and saw she had two knives now, one in each hand. She adjusted her grip and advanced on Rey with grim force. 

Rey ducked under her first slash, then had to jump back to avoid the second knife that swept underneath. She darted to the side and got in a solid jab under the woman's ribs, but only barely escaped the strike that followed. She had better agility than her opponent, but she was smaller, unarmed, and had no hope of taking on this Amazon in a fair fight. Luckily, Rey had learned when she was younger about being the smaller one in a fight. She ducked and weaved, avoiding the glistening knives by barely a hair. But without a weapon of her own, the most she could do was stay out of the other woman's way. Nothing she could do with her hands against those weapons would slow her down. The woman didn't show any signs that she'd get tired of the fight. Rey tried to strategize, think beyond the blind instinct that kept her body moving. 

Rey dodged one knife, and the other came from the side faster than she could see. It cut a long gash into her upper arm. Rey yelped, then bit her tongue. Reacting to the injury, her wolf instincts pushed towards the surface, snapping and growling at the back of her mind. She tried to push them back, to keep her mind focused on her opponent and the movements of the fight, but the internal struggle cost her concentration. A blade nicked her hand and she yanked it back. The wolf part of her growled louder, and she bared her teeth without thinking, a snarl tearing from her lips. The woman stepped back, eyes widening briefly, but they quickly narrowed as she revaluated her prey. 

The rush of a fight always brought her animal side close to the surface, and the adrenaline racing through her veins had her skin itching with the need to let her other form free. She felt the change seep into her eyes, lightening their hazel color to glowing amber. Her instincts fixed on the woman in front of her and her growl took on a deeper tone. Rey lunged, but the woman held out a hand, and Rey slammed into a gust of freezing wind. It blew her back, and she barely managed to keep from being thrown in the middle of Ben and the redhead’s fight. She set her feet, wishing her socks and shoes weren’t in the way and she could dig claws into the pavement. The wind bit into Rey’s skin, attacking her with innumerable tiny pinpricks of pain. The sharp points sunk into her, seeping into her veins, slowing her blood and down to her bones, locking her in place. She struggled, but the cold magic had her pinned. 

The woman smiled, brief and satisfied. “There. Stay, dog.” She stepped forward, walking around Rey to the fight between the two men behind her. Rey couldn’t turn her head to watch, but she heard her say, “Move, Hux.” 

“You--” the redhead panted. Something thudded, but Rey didn’t know if it was Hux, the blonde, or Ben. She strained against the freezing force holding her, trying to move anything enough to break free. The chill had sunk into every part of her, keeping her from pulling on her wolf. Behind her, Ben cried out, and she snapped. 

Her blood heated, adrenaline hitting her in full force. Jaw straining, a growl rumbled from her throat. Her teeth snapped together and her head whipped around, vision losing its color, but details stood out clearly in the dark alley. The rest of her body followed as if the magic had fallen away like a sheet of ice, cracking under her determination and rage. She briefly saw Ben on his back on the ground with his hands outstretched, the flicker of something dark and flexible across the alley from him, but she fixed on the blonde. She slammed into her back, knocking her forward to the ground. Her opponent’s reflexes didn’t fail her, and she wrapped her arms around to try to raise herself back up again, but Rey was faster. 

With a knee to the blonde’s back, Rey grabbed her hair and set her teeth around the back of her neck. Her jaw ached with the stretch, but freeing herself from the blonde’s magic had taken her part of the way through her transformation, giving her the sharp teeth necessary to make her threat clear. The blonde stilled. No matter how fast she was, Rey could snap her jaws closed and take a chunk from her neck before she hit Rey. Depending on how successful Rey was, that chunk could incapacitate her opponent for good. Whatever her fight with Ben was about, it apparently wasn’t worth the risk of having her neck torn out. 

With her face turned to the ground, it wasn’t easy to seek out the woman’s hands and relieve her of her weapons, but Rey managed. Carefully, she positioned the knives to take the place of her teeth, guaranteeing a swift injury even as she carefully removed her mouth from the woman’s neck. Keeping an eye on the other woman, Rey glanced up briefly to check on Ben. Blood still dripped down from his face and stained his clothes, but he was standing again and had the redhead by his neck up against the wall. He panted and the sound had a wet edge to it that she didn’t like, but the redhead seemed unwilling or unable to move. He looked down at Ben as if at a monster much more frightening than the huge bloodstained man that held his life in one hand. The concrete beneath them had crumbled away, and Rey couldn’t tell to where. Stones and dirt were churned around them, but nothing stirred. 

“Ben,” she said, looking back down at her own captive. “What do we do with them? Will someone come looking for them?” Her mind raced as she considered where nearby it would be easiest to store two bodies that wouldn’t lead back to them. There weren’t a lot of walkable options; maybe he had a car? But that would be something else to clean. She didn’t like to ask for help, but she considered calling Leia. 

Ben grunted in response. “Maybe. I think that depends on them.” He dragged the man down the wall so he could look straight into his eyes. “What do you think Hux? Is someone going to come after you?”

Hux opened his mouth, but no sound made it out past Ben’s hold on his throat. 

“Nothing we couldn’t take,” Ben mused. “But it’s not worth the effort.” He let go of Hux and the redhead collapsed to the ground, gasping for air and clutching his swollen throat. “I told you,” Ben said darkly. “I’m done. Don’t come back again.”

Hux glared up at him. Ben looked over at Rey. “Let her go,” he said.

Rey pressed her lips together, but reluctantly removed herself from the blonde. Slowly, the woman stood. Her gaze flicked between Ben and Rey and Rey could see the thoughts running through her mind, deciding her next move. Evidently, they weren’t worth taking on her own. 

She walked next to the redhead. “Come on,” she said, pulling him up by his arm. 

“Wait,” Rey bit out. All eyes in the alley snapped to her. She spun one of the blonde’s knives in her hands, then pressed it to Hux’s throat in a snap of movement. The heat of his skin nearly burned her. “You won’t come back,” she told him, eyes narrowed. He gulped, the movement pressing his throat tighter against her cold knife. “Say it,” she demanded. His eyes spat fire at her, and she thought he would swear at her, but the blonde spoke first. 

“Give the bitch what she wants, Armitage,” she snapped. 

Rey’s eye twitched, but she didn’t give the woman the satisfaction of responding. Her knife hand remained steady against the man’s throat. 

“Fine,” he spat. “You can have him. Not worth the trouble anyway.” He straightened as much as he could, leaning into the woman’s grasp. “Let’s go,” he said imperiously, despite the harsh rasp of his voice. “I don’t want to be around if she decides to start marking her territory.” 

Rey and Ben watched as the odd pair walked past them and out of the alley, Hux staggering slightly. Rey’s chest heaved, her body gradually catching up to the sudden exertion in the aftermath. Her jaw eased back into shape, though the ache and taste of blood remained. The heat of the battle still lingered in her veins along with the animal instincts. She chanced a glance over at Ben and regretted it when her body jumped in response. 

Even with her gaze fixed on the wall and the crumbled hole in the pavement, she could smell the man next to her, sweat and blood and earth. It made her mouth water. She clenched her hands into fists to keep from reaching for him and dragging him to her, to her fangs. The wolf in her howled at her to claim him. She'd fought for him; he was hers now. Every instinct said so. It didn’t help that she could hear his own harsh breaths, her body paying sharp attention to his sounds of exertion. 

She swallowed. He was human. He didn’t need a ramped-up werewolf jumping him after he’d fought for his life. Maybe they could build up to that. Right now, he was hurt and bleeding. She should focus on that. 

“Are you--” Her voice cracked. “Do you have a first aid kit?” She looked up at him and was shocked to find his eyes fixed on her. She couldn’t decipher his expression, something wide-eyed and almost awestruck. He didn’t answer, only looked at her. “Ben?”

He blinked. “I. What?”

“First aid kit? We’ve got stuff in the shop if--”

“No.” He shook his head as if to clear it. “I’ve got a box in the back. Here.” He turned and walked to the end of the alley, then stopped in front of the old rusted metal door and dug in his pockets, pulling out a small key ring. He jammed a large silver key into the keyhole and wiggled it a few times until the lock yielded with a screech. “Got to fix that,” he muttered, then pulled the door open and motioned for her to enter. She did, and he followed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: healing
> 
> You can also find me on [tumblr](http://thewayofthetrashcompactor.tumblr.com/post/183007532343/read-on-ao3-harvest-moon-and-autumn-sun-rating-t), [twitter](https://twitter.com/briartrash/status/1099400758875832321), and [pillowfort](https://www.pillowfort.io/posts/509858)
> 
> Would love to hear what you think! Thank you for all the lovely comments on this fic so far <3

**Author's Note:**

> Thoughts so far? :D


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